Dessert: Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Whip up a better breakfast with a quick and easy recipe for extra-moist coffee cake layered with cream cheese and fresh strawberries.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sliced strawberries
Powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set the mixture aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 1 cup of the sugar with the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Set the batter aside.
In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg until creamy.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Top it with the cream cheese mixture, spreading it into an even layer, then top it with the remaining half of the batter.
Bake the cake for 20 minutes until it has puffed slightly then remove it from the oven and press the sliced strawberries on top. Return the pan to the oven and bake the cake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes until it's cooked throughout. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Remove the cake from the pan, slice and serve.